Talk:Miles-Tristan Friendship/@comment-24493435-20140813165503
There is no retconning needed. Someone does not need to pine romantically for someone in order to develop a relationship later down the line with them. There is no previously established canon to oppose, especially since Miles has never shown any sort of disgust of men. He’s never said he doesn’t like them. Sexuality is a personal thing, and the only person who knows what’s going on in Miles’s head is Miles. Everything else is just what the rest of the world sees. If anything, Miles not returning the kiss is a sign that he *wasn’t* looking for validation and affection from Tristan. He was surprised, but contrary to what Maya insists, he didn’t kiss Tristan. If he was looking for validation, he easily could have lead Tristan on, but Tristan did a pretty good job of that himself. It is possible to date only women and still be attracted to men. By saying Miles is for all intents and purposes straight, solely because he hasn’t dated a guy before, is completely missing the point. Also, Miles is 15 or 16 - that’s incredibly young. At that age, you are just discovering yourself, and working out who you are and what you like and how comfortable you are handling it - which is what is going on with him now. Miles was never out of his comfort zone around Tristan. He knew Tristan was gay, and it never bothered him. He didn’t have to work out his issues, he didn’t have to overcome anything. The same goes for Winston - regardless of whether or not Miles is attracted to men or not, the type of people he hangs out with don’t have a problem with gay people. As for ulterior motives, I see none. He isn’t some benevolent straight man bestowing he precious friendship upon the poor gay Tristan - he’s just being his friend. They get along, Miles feels comfortable confiding in him, that’s actually a really great basis for a relationship, and a contrast to Miles’s relationship with Maya, which usually ends with Maya telling Miles what he needs to do in order to fix his dysfunctional family, instead of just being a good listener. Maybe Miles was in love with Maya. It’s also possible he was in love with the idea of her, and having a nice girlfriend who cares about him. If anything is about his need for validation and affection, it would be that relationship. He certainly isn’t getting any affection at home, so it would make sense that he looks for it in people outside his family. I don’t see him saying “If there’s anything I’ve learned this year, it’s that no one will ever truly love you” as being directly about Maya, but instead about her and his own family. His father does nothing but tell him what a disappointment and a failure he is, and that kind of thing can weigh a person down. And again, he’s young. Love is quick and hard, especially when you’re young. Tristan and Miles forming a solid friendship without romantic motives is probably the best basis for a romantic relationship this show has done in a long time. Immediately jumping in to date someone without really knowing them leads to a lot of misunderstandings and unrealistic expectations.